Seventeen new cases of swine flu have been confirmed in South Africa, pushing the total of infections to 47, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Wednesday.
”There are currently 47 laboratory confirmed cases of novel influenza AH1N1. Of these, 28 are linked to a sporting event at a university event within Johannesburg,” the institute said.
NICD deputy director Lucille Blumberg told the South African Press Association that the rise in the number of swine-flu cases did not indicate any danger to the South African public, but she said the number of infections could rise.
”We do not yet have the community transmission as in other countries, but we can expect more mild cases, as it appears we will be having a second flu season,” she said.
The country’s first swine-flu case was detected in a 12-year-old boy who arrived from the United States on June 14.
The virus, which first appeared in April in Mexico, has been declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
More than 94 500 cases of swine flu have been confirmed worldwide and the virus has caused more than 425 deaths, according to the WHO. — AFP
